The Team Ford factory team dominated the Production Vehicle category on the Human Auto 400, penultimate round of the Absa Off Road Championship, which ended on Saturday.

Reigning South African champions Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst scored their second win of the season in the Team Ford Ranger TDCi and, in the process, revived hopes of back to back championships. Provisional results saw Visser and Badenhorst come in nearly two minutes ahead of former South African champion Alfie Cox and German co-driver Jurgen Schroder in the SP Laser Nissan Navara.

Ford’s cup was filled to overflowing when teenager Lance Woolridge and Ward Huxtable brought the second Team Ford Ranger home in third place. It was a second podium finish in a row for the Pietermaritzburg crew.

Visser and Badenhorst were a little nervous on the second of the two loops that made up the race. The Ford Ranger picked up an overheating problem and the reigning South African champions had to nurse the car home.
“It was a difficult race,” said Visser. “The overheating was a problem, but on a really tough route Japie had to work overtime to keep us on the right course.

“In the end it all worked out nicely for the team, and Lance and Ward also did a great job under difficult circumstances.”

 While Visser and Badenhorst revived their championship hopes, a dramatic race saw other championship hopefuls miss out on strengthening their title hopes. Thomas Rundle/Juan Mohr (Barden Tyres Services Nissan Navara) went home without a point after gearbox failure, but still lead the championship.

Terence Marsh/George Smalberger (Regent Racing Nissan Navara) and Duncan Vos/Rob Howie (Team Castrol Toyota Hilux) also went home empty handed. Marsh and Smalberger retired after hitting a ditch at speed, while Vos/Howie went out with engine failure six kilometres from the finish.

With Anthony Taylor and Chris Birkin, in the second Team Castrol Toyota Hilux, also among the non finishers it was not a happy event for the factory squad. Toyota will run two cars in the 2012 Dakar Rally and used this race to test certain components.

Also among those who failed to see out the distance were 4x4 Mega World 400 winners Pikkie Labuschagne and Rikus Erasmus in the Ruwacon Racing Toyota Hilux. They were in a menacing position when power steering failure on the second loop saw them reduced to spectators.

There was better news for Mike Whitehouse/Mathew Carlson (Regent Racing Nissan Navara) and veterans Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux in the International Toyota Hilux.

A gutsy performance after a nightmare Donaldson Prologue which determined grid positions, saw Whitehouse and Carlson salvage precious points with 10th place overall. Visser/le Roux had a trouble free run and fifth place behind Hugo and Jaap de Bruyn (Micaren Exel Toyota Hilux) keeps them in the championship mix.

Unofficial scoring sees the top six crews now separated by only 15,5 points with one event remaining. It is going to be a pressure cooker finale.

There were also good results for Christiaan du Plooy/Henk Janse van Vuuren (RFS BMW X3) and Gary Bertholdt/Andre Vermeulen who were another crew to stage a good comeback in the Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux. The top eight was completed by reigning Class E champions Deon Venter and Ian Palmer in the 4x4 Mega World Toyota Hilux.

Venter/Palmer took Class D by a wide margin from the Horn brothers, Johan and Werner, in the Malalane Toyota Land Cruiser. Third were championship leaders Jack and Sarel Oosthuizen who maintained their 100 percent finish record in a Land Rover.

The Class E honours went the way of Dirk Putter and Koos Claassens after a dominant performance in the Sizwe Toyota Hilux. They had wads of time to spare over Diederik Hattingh and Buks Cilliers in the Transcor Toyota Hilux and local crew Gerald le Roux and Walter Hickley in the Ruwacon Racing Toyota Hilux.